1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of elongated projectile barrel cleaning devices in general. In particular, the present invention relates specifically to a cleaning device for provide a squeegee action for cleaning the inside of a paintball marker. Known art in various other types of cleaning devices may be found in U.S. Class 15, Brushing, Scrubbing, and General Cleaning, Subclass 104.05 Inside, Subclass 104.16 Scraper, Cutter, Wiper or Brush, Subclass 104.062 Cleaner Plug Insertion or Removal Device, Subclass 104.68 Scraper Flue Cleaner, Subclass 104.31 Sewer, Subclass 143.1 Particular Handle, Subclass 144.1 Adjustable, Subclass 144.3 Variable Length; and Class 42 Firearms, Subclass 95 For Barrel Cleaning as well as in other classes and subclasses.
2. Description of the Known Art
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a solid elongated squeegee or pull through type of squeegee may be used to clean the inside of a market barrel. Details of a typical solid elongated squeegee include an inner solid tube holding a pivotal squeegee head and an outer spring biased tube to release the head and allow it to fold sideways for insertion into the barrel. The outer spring biased tube is then released to contact the inserted head to force the head into a perpendicular relationship for squeegee cleaning during removal from the barrel. Other cleaning devices include a foldable cleaner that uses a fluff or swab head on a split tube using a surgical tube connection to provide a folding action. The fluff head provide a wiping action for the inside of the barrel. However, the wiping action of the fluff head type of cleaner does not provide the level of cleaning associated with a squeegee type of action.
Several United States patents should be considered to understand cleaning devices. These include U.S. Pat. No. Des. 237,678, issued to Spencer on Nov. 18, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 393,115, issued to Bell et al. Mar. 31, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 43,573, issued to Crane on Jul. 19, 1864; U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,105, issued to Firman on Dec. 6, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 57,846, issued to Bausman on Sep. 11, 1866; U.S. Pat. No. 143,139, issued to Gould on Sep. 23, 1873; U.S. Pat. No. 312,206, issued to Jenks on Feb. 10, 1885; U.S. Pat. No. 426,912, issued to Butman on Apr. 29, 1890; U.S. Pat. No. 504,426, issued to Truax on Sep. 5, 1893; U.S. Pat. No. 569,060, issued to Roberts and McCormick on Oct. 6, 1896; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,484,267, issued to Bower on Oct. 11, 1949. Each of these patents are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 237,678 issued to Spencer on Nov. 18, 1975 describes a firearm chamber lubricating and cleaning device. This is a design patent which discloses the embodiment of the swab or fluff type head. It appears that a central joint or pivot is formed in the handle of this cleaning device.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 393,115 issued to Bell et al. on Mar. 31, 1998 describes a cleaning device for paintball gun barrels. As this device does not fold, its usefulness is only in the description of the shape of the squeegee portion of the barrel cleaner.
U.S. Pat. No. 43,573 issued to Crane on Jul. 19, 1864 discloses a gun-barrel scraper which describes a compactable and expandable instrument for cleaning the interior of a barrel of a gun.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,105 issued to Firman on Dec. 6, 1994 discloses a squeegee holder. This patent describes the use of a flexible squeegee and swab end cleaner that may be bent and contained within a holder placed around the compressed air tank of a paint or pellet gun.
Thus, it may be seen that these prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization. The prior art fails to disclose an embodiment or apparatus for providing the necessary rigidity for a compactable rod used in a cleaner having a squeegee action. Thus, an improved compactable paintball marker squeegee is needed to overcome these limitations.